Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

We hosted a Christmas party and required two things. 1. an ugly christmas sweater and 2. a gift for white elephant gift exchange.

First days in our new home

First meal: Home made mac and cheese. 

Chicken Cordon Bleu. First step: Cut the chicken and flatten it.

Once flattened, place a piece of ham and a piece of swiss in the center. Roll the chicken.

Whisk 2 eggs and lay out breadcrumbs. Dip each piece of chicken in the eggs and then roll each piece in breadcrumbs. Place in a baking dish and top off with olive oil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Finished Product

Ivan made dinner!! Baked meaty, cheesy, ziti. Delish

Our version of salad.

Rock Sole Fish and Mashed Potatoes

Absence

I haven't posted in a while and there are 2 reasons. Firstly Ivan and I bought our first home, so that took up most of my time, it was hard to keep up with it all. Secondly we were on a budget and I didn't feel right about posting ramen noondles. But now I am back and will begin to post new food, photos of our closing, and our housewarming party. Stay tuned.

Chicken Bog

I asked Ivan today what he might be craving for dinner tonight. When his reply was Chicken Bog, I thought he was kidding. I have never eaten chicken bog let alone heard the name. As I was researching the history to see what made this dish so memorable for Ivan as a child, I came to find that the history ran deep, chicken bog most likely dates back to Charleston during the 17th century. I decided to make the dish and see if it brought back memories of Ivan's childhood in Charleston.

Sure enough it did, and surprising to me this dish was absolutely amazing!

I steered away from the typical chicken bog recipes, here is what I used:

CHICKEN BOG

--------------INGREDIENTS------------

1 pound of skinless chicken breasts, whole

1 pound of smoked sausage, cut in 1/2 in

1/4 cup butter

1/8 of a red pepper, minced

2 tsp of salt and pepper

1 clove of minced garlic

3 bay leaves

8 cups of water

3 cups of uncooked white rice

---------PREPARATION--------

Place the chicken, sausage, butter, spices (garlic, salt, pepper,red pepper, onion, bay leaves), and water in a stock pot.

Boil. Cover lid and cook for 25 minutes.

Remove chicken from the stock pot. Let the chicken cool, and shred the chicken with two forks.

Add the rice and bring to boil for 10 minutes. Keep the cover on and let the sausage and rice simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the chicken back to the pot and stir.

Ham, Chorizo and Cheese Quiche with Bacon

I wanted to make breakfast for dinner tonight, but with a twist. I decided to make a quiche and applewood smoked bacon.

First I placed one half of a chopped onion, diced ham, and chorizo in a pan. I simmered these ingredients to combine the flavors, as chorizo should be seared before cooking to enhance both the flavor and texture.

Then I whisked 3 eggs, 3/4 cup of milk, and salt and pepper. I let the ham, chorizo, onion mixture sit until it cooled.

Once cooled, I combined the eggs and meat. I added shredded cheddar to the mix. I then poured the mixture in a pre-made pie crust.

350 degree pre-heated oven and 45 minutes later... this simple breakfast quiche was transformed into a delicious dinner meal.

I also bough thick cut apple wood bacon and cooked this at the same time as the quiche... and like that. Dinner was served. I'm not sure why this was the first time I have ever made a quiche, because it's simple and extremely delicious.

Rock Sole and Basmati with peas

For dinner I pan seared a rock sole fish. First I salted and peppered the fish and rubbed it in with my hand. I lightly floured the fish on both sides and placed them in a pan with hot olive oil. Rock sole is extremely easy to cook, once the first side is seared, flip and you will begin to see the fish transform into a flaky yet crusted delicious fish.

I removed the fish, but kept the olive oil and flour left on the bottom of the pan. I added 1 clove of crushed garlic, lemon juice from half of a lemon, and a quarter cup of dry wine. I simmered this to make a beautiful sauce to top over both the fish and the rice. yumm!

As a side, I cooked Organic white basmati rice. After the rice was finished cooking, I placed a small bag of frozen peas inside the pot and covered it for 10 minutes to let the rice and peas finish cooking.

The final product:

Family. Food. The end of PR.

Ilia,Ivan,Ramon

Ribs, Fried potatoes, arroz con abichuelas 

Adriana y Yara

Ramon, Yara, Ivan

Adriana and I

Ramon y Ivan

Alcapurrias we bought on the street on the way to Luquillo.

Bacalao from the same vendor on the street.

La Playa

Ilia's homeade Alcapurrias

A Coconut from the backyard

Pasteles.

Ramon's pitorro.

Ponce

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